Strategic Vision 2025

STRATEGIC VISION 2025 1

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Dear Tampa Prep Community, Welcome to Vision 2025, a Strategic Plan for Tampa Prep. This plan continues our tradition of reflection, assessment and planning to develop thoughtful and bold initiatives to guide our institution forward and into the future. The uniqueness of Prep, our joy, our key traditions and the encouragement for new ideas and new thinking are hallmarks of the Prep experience we treasure. Our heritage gives us both strength and confidence as we look to the opportunities we seek for our future.

The Board of Trustees has taken its strategic responsibilities to heart, developed the most inclusive process to date, and the broad scope of this plan would not have been possible without a comprehensive community effort. Responses from the 2019 All School Survey, the faculty’s two-year long conversation on education and institution responsibilities, focus groups, and the work of the strategic plan steering committees all contributed to the 2025 Vision Strategic Plan presented to you today.

The pillars of this plan and its themes demonstrate a unique focus to provide an excellent education for children in a premier environment. Uniquely, this plan also highlights our perspective on modernizing the education experience where the 21st century skills, support, wellness, and character become the foundation on which a student’s future opportunities can be built. This plan comprehensively sets the architecture for new opportunities for success, engagement, collaboration and includes the expectation for regular updates to the Board and the Prep community. It is a plan that gives new life to innovation and creativity, the ingredients for programmatic and experiential evolution.

Prep has been, and always will be, an education original. This Strategic Plan takes us in a direction unlike any other, and I am confident in our community’s resolve and resilience to support this plan as it takes us forward.

I would like to thank the Steering Committee members, parents, faculty members, administrators, community members, and the Board of Trustees who have come together over the last year and with the guidance of Ian Symmonds and Associates, the committee’s work is now ready to be shared with the Tampa Prep community.

Wishing all the best to you and yours, and looking forward to Tampa Prep’s future,

Kevin M. Plummer Head of School

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STRATEGIC PLAN STEERING COMMITTEE Gail Bernucca, Trustee Emerita

Matthew Danahy, ‘79, Trustee Emeritus

Dennis Facciolo John Fahey, ‘90 Joe Fenlon Geoff Guidera, ‘95 Stacia Hottle Chris Lavoie Michael Long Shannon Mahaffey Naazneen Pal Melissa Polo, ‘87 Kimberly Sanford Sandi Santos John Seary Ken Sigman Doug Smith

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INTRODUCTION

For the past 46 years, Tampa Preparatory School has enjoyed a reputation for innovation, creativity, inclusion, and excellence in the independent school landscape. The next decade will be no different. For the past eighteen months and under the guidance of Ian Symmonds & Associates, key stakeholders from all constituency groups collaborated to launch a comprehensive strategic plan that will Inspire Next. This bold plan will fulfill our vision of being Florida’s Most Innovative School. With an unyielding commitment to our vision and mission in mind, this strategic plan affirms our core tenets of academic and athletic excellence, intellectual and artistic creativity, experiential education, and empathy.

As we look to the future, Tampa Preparatory School faces several significant challenges related to the fulfillment of its strategic goals. However, at the intersection of these challenges lies a momentous opportunity for innovative problem-solving and courageous leadership. Tampa Preparatory School is invigorated by the opportunity to contribute to and build upon its commitment to exemplary independent school education and inspiring the next generation of leaders.

Tampa Preparatory School’s goals for Strategic Vision 2025 are bold, transformational, and student- centered. The strategic plan will require flexibility and adaptability as well as skillful execution by school leadership, tenacious faculty, resilient students, and a supportive community.

Through analysis and discussion, Tampa Preparatory is on the continued pathway of recruiting and retaining world class faculty who will continually develop sound pedagogical methodologies. Our students will aspire to think, create, be themselves, aspire to excellence, and go beyond. As global citizens, they will utilize pervasive skills and training to provide solutions to complex world problems. Our plan offers strategic direction to foster an environment of diversity, inclusion, and serving as a 21st century pioneer and leader in technology and education.

Tampa Preparatory School is proud of its history of serving students, the community, and State of Florida within education. Through creativity, passion, innovative academic programming, and clear vision, Tampa Preparatory School strives to build on these past successes and develop even greater strength in the future.

It is with great pleasure that we, on behalf of the Board of Trustees, present to you Strategic Vision 2025, the strategic plan for Tampa Preparatory School.

Carrie D. White President of the Board of Trustees

Dionne M. Jones Chair of the ad hoc Committee on the Strategic Plan

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BACKGROUND & CONTEXT DURING THE 2019-20 ACADEMIC YEAR, TAMPA PREP LAUNCHED A COMPREHENSIVE STRATEGIC PLANNING PROCESS. The strategic plan was developed to provide a long-range view of future school priorities created through a highly inclusive and participatory process. A steering committee was formed and focused on research, environmental scans, SWOT analysis, committee exercises, and trends in the independent school and the education sector.

In order to build a base of sound information and to guide the planning process, the school enlisted the assistance of a research and planning firm, Ian Symmonds & Associates. The strategic planning steering committee worked collaboratively through a series of exercises designed to establish priorities based upon the findings of the research.

This process culminated in the spring of 2020, with the steering committee developing a small set of priorities for future focus. As strategic priorities were developed, the steering committee expanded upon them to outline specific initiatives, action plans, and a series of sequenced priorities. The following white paper draft outlines these initiatives.

Each of these strategic goals contains several strategic initiatives and numerous action plans. The strategic initiatives and action plans benefit from having additional implementation details, such as estimated costs and metrics of success, to be further developed in the planning process.

They will be utilized as the school moves forward on the execution of the strategic plan.

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OUR INNOVATIVE LEARNING 8

EXPAND IMMERSIVE LEARNING Expand immersive learning opportunities through student-driven, project-based, and experiential academic experiences that empower students.

WORLD-CLASS TEACHING Expand our efforts to attract, support, invest, and retain best-in- class faculty throughout our school community.

ONGOING DESIGN Define and clarify the process for developing, designing, and evaluating new and existing concentrations.

LEARNER PROFILE Clearly define the profile of the Tampa Prep learner, providing clarity and direction to our overall academic purpose.

RETHINK ASSESSMENT Evaluate our current assessment and reporting practices in order to enhance our culture of learning.

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OUR FOOTPRINT, SERVICES, AND SUSTAINABILITY

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EXPAND REMOTE LEARNING Explore and investigate hybrid course offerings in a relationship-driven school, engaging our alumni and community stakeholders in the process of development.

EXPLORE FEASIBILITY OF ENROLLMENT EXPANSION Examine the feasibility of enrollment expansion at Tampa Prep.

CULTIVATE FACILITIES Upgrade and optimize our existing facilities with a specific focus on delivering additional spaces for engaged learning, collaboration, science and technology (Orion), and strategic initiatives of the school.

EMBOLDEN PHILANTHROPY Clarify and commit to a best-in-class philanthropy system and communication and engagement plan to establish a complete capital campaign.

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OUR DISTINCT CULTURE

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FORTIFY INCLUSION Fortify our commitment and schoolwide practice in the areas of diversity, equity, and inclusion.

INSPIRE LEADERSHIP Inspire a culture of leadership, citizenship, and character as a critical lens throughout our school programs.

INTEGRATE WELLNESS Enhance and fortify our culture of health, wellness, and balance throughout the school community.

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OUR CONNECTIONS TO THE BROADER COMMUNITY 14

INVEST IN PARTNERSHIPS Advance and expand student learning opportunities through partnerships with institutions of higher learning, community partnerships, and leading businesses in the creation of the future of Tampa.

THINK GLOBAL Commit to crafting a culture of global citizens through a focus on environmental sustainability.

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727 W. CASS STREET TAMPA, FL 33606 WWW.TAMPAPREP.ORG 813.251.8481

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